


Finalize

by kiichu



Category: 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors - Fandom
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-11
Updated: 2012-12-11
Packaged: 2017-11-20 20:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiichu/pseuds/kiichu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 9th's Man's final thoughts before time runs out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finalize

**Author's Note:**

> Because the poor guy deserves at least one drabble about him.

When he first hears that insufferable beeping, Kubota's heart nearly stops right then and there.

This... this has to be a sick joke. Or maybe he's dreaming; yes, dreaming of the past, just as he did every night. This is no different than another nightmare... 

But the beeping continues long after the pain of his teeth sinking into his lip finally settles in. And it is then that Teruaki Kubota realizes: all the nightmares he had suffered through for years and years are nothing in comparison. This incubus is rooted in something much, much worse.

Numbly, he yanks at the bracelet, the skull pixels that  _he_  designed flashing menacingly back at him. In a way, the things he built were his children; imagine, his own creation, destined to destroy him in the end. "Daddy," they cry, "you must die now."

_But I don't want to die!_

His life was never anything particularly exciting, but that didn't mean he wants to lose it. Yes, one could argue that he is quite attached to breathing and being the textbook definition of alive. Not that he is "alive" in the sense that he lives a good life; living alone and suffering from frequent panic attacks is not an ideal career children want to pursue when they grow up.

...regardless, he tries once more to tear the watch off, clinging to the one hope that this is a setup created to teach him a lesson rather than take his life. He can't grow as an individual if he's in pieces on the floor, can he?!

Kubota isn't a fool. He knows the rules of this unfortunate game (being one of those to develop them), and what happens when one breaks them. However, the situation's eerie resemblance to their experiment nine years prior was enough to break  _him_. He cracked, and relied on the only person he recognized: Gentarou Hongou, his boss, the CEO of Cradle. 

Hongou always had an air of boldness around him; he always looked  _through_  people, rather than  _at_  them. Even a social invalid like Kubota could recognize that. He only shared his thoughts with his "right-hand man," Nagisa Nijisaki. 

It's pathetic, but Kubota always idolized Hongou for his unbreakable morale. He found himself striving to be more like his boss, staying long after hours to finish the blueprints of his next project, or even giving his best attempt to boss the grunts around. The latter wasn't ever really effective, but no one could say he didn't try.

Kubota had given his life to Hongou, enough to risk imprisonment for developing nightmare-ish technology for their twisted experiments. That was how things were run at Cradle; whatever the CEO demanded, Kubota and the other employees would happily create. Hongou truly was like a lion, reigning over his 'pride' with complete authority. 

He had placed Hongou on too high of a pedestal, it seemed. A dangerous enough situation could break the CEO, as well. Or perhaps it was all wistful thinking on Kubota's part; perhaps Hongou was never truly as magnificent as he pegged him.

_...as if._

Gentarou Hongou is still one of the most inspiring men Kubota has met. That will never change, even in his last few seconds of life. The only one to blame here is Kubota, after all. Angrily, he curses himself; such a fate would obviously become someone who clings to others and doesn't have a backbone. 

But nothing can be fixed now. Of all people, Kubota is well aware of what horrors transpire beyond the doors of the Nonary Game. 

His ears are roaring, making his frightened voice sound so far away. His legs tremble and he feels adrenaline rush through his veins as he pounds on the door. He isn't even aware of what he is screaming to the others; probably a plea for help or an accusing tone at Hongou. 

"He killed me!" he hears himself scream, at least. He doesn't know why he is purposefully vague; perhaps, on some level, he knows the others wouldn't believe him. If they don't recognize Hongou now, they are just as damned as Kubota.

Who would believe a dead man, anyway?

Panic swims through him as he slams his fists on the cold metal door a few more times. His heart beating wildly, he runs to the corner of the room, crouching down and cowering in a tight ball. 

_Help please please please stop no this isn't happening Hongou please save me help me_

_Please I'm so sorry please please save me help me Hongou please I don't want to die help_

His vision grows blurry with tears that escape down his cheeks. Though he feels completely paralyzed on the spot, he manages to close his eyes in pitiful resolution. His throat is raw now from screaming in terror as his mind fleets away. 

_Please, Hongou... save me!_

It's almost eerie, watching what seems to be the last of his fear escape his body. And he can almost  _feel_  the final tick of the bomb.

Then...

It's over before it begins.


End file.
